


Across the Street

by Rebel_Leader05



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Eventual Romance, F/M, Rey Needs A Hug, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, This could be a long one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-20 20:53:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14901812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebel_Leader05/pseuds/Rebel_Leader05
Summary: "She was a walking contradiction with her pink Hello Kitty shirt, black skirt, black ballet flats, and a scowl that could rival his own. Her long brown hair was up in the strangest hairdo Ben had ever seen, held up in three buns in a vertical row down the back of her head. This little girl looked as though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders."-Twelve-year-old Ben Solo never really paid much attention to the orphanage across the street. That all changes when a very angry six-year-old girl moves in and he makes it his mission to see her smile.





	1. Six and Twelve

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to my latest brain-child! 
> 
> Just a few notes before getting started: 
> 
> -In this fic there is a six year difference between Ben and Rey  
> -Orphanages exist here instead of the foster system. It just worked better for the premise of the story.  
> -Rey is the one with anger issues, but Ben definitely has his share of angst, which we will get to later. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_Chapter One_

Twelve-year-old Ben had always been fascinated by the orphanage across the street. The building was a three-story, whereas his family home was a two-story, and he’d spent many lonely nights when he was younger, especially when his parents were having another one of their famous fights, pretending that he lived among the many glum-faced orphans he saw on occasion. There had even been times when he’d managed to convince himself that he used to be one of them and had been adopted as a baby or young toddler by Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo to live a life of privilege that came from being a Senator’s son.

 

A quick look in the mirror always made those thoughts disappear. His mother’s eyes and his father’s build always stared back at him, sometimes like a slap to the face. He’d never been an orphan, though there were certainly moments where he’d felt like one.

 

That particular sunny day had been no exception. Both of his parents were gone, as usual, leaving Ben in the care of a nanny who was always happiest when Ben shut himself up in his room to read one of his many comics.

 

Ben had grown bored of the comics in no time, but that afternoon he hadn’t felt like going back down to find something else to do. He heard the television playing downstairs which meant he would never convince Amilyn Holdo to take him somewhere. Once she got started on her soaps, there was no distracting her.

 

With nothing else do to, Ben seated himself on his window-seat and stared out at the orphanage across the street.

 

He didn’t know how much time had passed with him staring idly out the window before the plain black car pulled up to the curb. That either meant a prospective parent or a new arrival.

 

Ben was banking on the latter.

 

Still, he didn’t know just what he’d been expecting, but the little girl that emerged moments later was not it.

 

She was a walking contradiction with her pink _Hello Kitty_ shirt, black skirt, black ballet flats, and a scowl that could rival his own. Her long brown hair was up in the strangest hairdo Ben had ever seen, held up in three buns in a vertical row down the back of her head. This little girl looked as though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. The old woman who got out of the driver’s seat opened the trunk of her car and pulled out a dark purple duffel bag. Ben expected the woman to hand it to the girl, but she draped it over her own shoulder before reaching out for the girl to take her hand.

 

Ben bit back a laugh as he watched the girl squirm out of the woman’s grasp and run ahead to the porch of the orphanage, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest as the woman fell along behind her.

 

Despite being a twelve-year-old boy who was about to start junior high when school started back up in the fall, Ben couldn’t help his curiosity about this girl who could not be more than five or six. He would never dream of defying an adult the way she had, at least not so openly. He was a senator’s son, after all. Expectations had been drilled into him practically since birth.

 

The door to the orphanage opened and the short, stout woman he knew was in charge of the establishment across the street but had only seen a handful of times smiled widely at the girl. It was impossible for Ben to hear the conversation, but he figured he got the gist of it when the stout woman opened the door as wide as it could go and stepped to the side, gesturing for the girl to go on ahead. She shook her head and dug in her heels, but eventually gave up the struggle when the other woman who’d driven her leaned down to whisper something in her ear. She immediately stomped inside, out of Ben’s view. He caught the two women give each other knowing looks before they both followed the girl inside.

 

Ben would never have admitted it to any of his friends at school, but he quickly became fascinated by the newest orphan who now lived across the street from him. In the following few days, he peeked out his window, hoping for even the smallest glimpse of the girl. When he was outside he lingered longer than necessary in the hopes that she would come outside so he could maybe introduce himself.

 

But she never did. And Ben eventually gave up.

 

It must’ve been weeks later, and Ben and his nanny were driving back from the grocery store when he finally saw the familiar strange hairdo on the third level of the big house across the street from his own. He got out of the car once his nanny had parked in the driveway and walked slowly to the trunk to help her unload the groceries, his eyes glued to the uppermost window across the street.

 

She had turned her head so that she was looking out the window, staring out at nothing in particular.

 

The first thing that struck Ben was that her eyes were puffy and red. It was obvious despite the distance between them. She raised a hand to rub them, and the scowl he saw on her on the day of her arrival was back in full force. It was clear enough that this little girl had some serious anger. Ben silently swore to himself then and there that he would do whatever he could to take some of that anger away.

 

“Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help me with these groceries?” His nanny barked at him, temporarily snapping him out of his thoughts.

 

Ben grabbed the rest of the bags and followed his nanny inside the house. After he helped her put the groceries away he hurried upstairs to his room and sat on his window seat, hoping she was still there.

 

She was, and staring right at his window. Ben’s heart skipped a beat, but didn’t hesitate. He ran to his closet, found his backpack, and grabbed the barely used notebook out of it and a sharpie.

 

He scribbled a quick note then opened his window, gesturing for the girl to do the same on her end.

 

Her scowl only deepened, but she hesitantly did as he wanted.

 

When her attention was back on him, he held up the notebook with the message he’d scribbled in all caps with the sharpie.

  **HI. MY NAME'S BEN. WHAT'S YOURS?  
**

For the longest time he was afraid she wouldn’t answer. That or maybe she couldn’t read. Then he would certainly feel like an idiot.

 

When she disappeared after what felt like hours later, Ben hoped that she was getting paper and something to write with. He hoped she didn’t think him weird, creepy, or simply not worth her time and therefore wouldn’t return.

 

Ben perked up when she eventually returned with a hastily scribbled message of her own. Her handwriting was the scribble of a child who was still learning to master the act, but it was easy enough to read what she’d written.

 

**I’M REY. I HATE IT HERE.**

Ben flipped a page in his notebook and wrote one word in reply.

 

**WHY?**

Ben saw her squint at the word, frown, and look down to write a reply of her own.

 

**IT’S BORING. I WANT TO GO HOME.**

Ben took the bait and asked the obvious question.

 

**WHY CAN’T YOU GO HOME?**

This earned him a scowl from the girl…Rey…and the answer she gave was both obvious and heartbreaking at the same time.

 

**CUZ I DON’T HAVE A HOME. MY MOMMY AND DADDY ARE DEAD.**

Ben felt like an idiot and a jerk. Here was his chance to let her know he would be her friend, and he was blowing it.

 

**I’M SORRY. THAT MUST SUCK.**

Rey’s reply only consisted of two words.

 

**IT DOES.**

Ben was about to change the subject when Rey snapped her head at something behind her, causing her to jump up and slam the window shut. He waited a couple minutes, just in case she came back, but she didn’t.

 

When his parents came home later that night and asked him how his day was, he asked, “Can I get some new notebooks tomorrow?”


	2. Where We Meet Rey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey decides it's her turn to talk.

_Chapter Two_

Rey hated everything about the orphanage. She hated the way it smelled, the kids, the staff, the fact that she had to share a room with five other girls. She hated that there were three bunk beds per room and that she had to sleep on one of the top bunks just because she was six. Rey had tried to explain to the lady in charge that she was nervous about sleeping in the top bunk because she used to roll out of bed a lot back home. The woman said she’d be fine and left it at that.

 

Rey hated that the kids ignored her. Most of them were older and thought they were too good to hang out with a scrawny six-year-old. Rey didn’t really care so much about that, but the younger kids habitually left her out of their playtime as well.

 

It hadn’t been until one day when she’d been questioned by one of the social workers why she wasn’t playing in the large backyard with the rest of the kids that she grudgingly admitted that they wouldn’t let her.

 

“Well,” the young woman admitted, looking uncomfortable. Rey had simply stared at her, waiting for an answer she was sure she wouldn’t like, “you might want to change your attitude. Most of the time people think you’re angry and don’t want to be around anyone. If you change that, the other kids may feel more inclined to include you.”

 

 _But my parents just died,_ Rey thought bitterly, saying nothing out loud. _How else am I supposed to feel?_

 

Rey had simply turned tail and marched upstairs to the highest room at the orphanage.

 

The other girls she shared the room with were outside playing on the swing set, so Rey temporarily had the room to herself. She decided to take advantage of it and sat by the window. She hardly ever looked out the window back home because there honestly had never been any need to. She used to have plenty to do. Her parents loved spending time with her, and they’d always go out on little outings. Sometimes it was the park, other times to the movies or the mall. Her days were always too action-packed to dwell on the world outside of her own.

 

Now Rey had nothing else to do. She still hadn’t gotten over her parents not being around anymore. There were mornings when she woke up and looked around for them, waiting for them to appear before remembering the car accident and everything that happened after that. And it would make her so angry that she couldn’t hide it.

 

Some of the social workers she’d stayed with before finally being dumped at the orphanage had tried talking to her about her feelings. Some had taken her to a therapist in the hope that opening up to a stranger would help her feel more inclined to open up. Rey never said a word. All she did was sit with her arms folded and wait for them to stop talking.

 

No one understood. No one could tell her when she would stop feeling so sad and so angry. Most of the other kids in the orphanage still had parents and were either waiting to be able to live with them again or were in transition between living with their parents and other relatives. Rey didn’t really understand any of that. All she knew was that most of the people she lived with had no idea what she was going through, and it made her feel even more alone than she already was.

 

Before she knew it, Rey found herself crying for what felt like the thousandth time since she’d arrived at the orphanage.

 

When she looked out of her window, she saw a boy getting out of a car in the driveway of the house across the street. She had assumed there was a family who lived there, but she’d never seen anyone come in or leave. She hadn’t really thought about them much, but for some reason it surprised her that there was a kid there.

 

He was older than her, tall, and had think black hair that looked as though it was on the verge of curling. He wore a blue t-shirt, jeans, and black Converse, and was helping the woman he was with get groceries out of the car. She would’ve assumed the woman was his mom except they looked nothing alike. The boy’s tall height and dark brown hair was in contrast to the woman’s short figure and sleek blond hair. Maybe she was a babysitter.

 

Rey watched the pair disappear inside the house.

 

Minutes later the boy appeared again, this time at the window directly across from her own. He was making a motion with his hand that Rey assumed meant he wanted her to open her window.

 

Almost without meaning to, she complied.

 

The boy held up a notebook with a message written in all caps in black marker, the writing large enough that she was easily able to read it despite the distance.

 

**HI. MY NAME'S BEN. WHAT'S YOURS?**

Rey stared at the message. Stared, and stared, trying to decide if she was going to answer or not. Even if she did, how could she? She didn’t know where any paper was, or any markers for that matter.

 

Almost as though she were being pulled away from the window by invisible strings, Rey got up and began rifling through the belongings of her roommates until she finally came up with a notebook and a black sharpie from the belongings of the girl who slept in the bunk right below hers.

 

She wrote a messy message, making the words as big as the boy across the street did.

 

He was still there when she returned, so she held up her notebook so he could read.

 

**I’M REY. I HATE IT HERE.**

 

Rey was surprised when the boy kept writing notes, and equally surprised when she continued answering them. Maybe it was because he was the first person who seemed as though he were truly concerned for her since she’d arrived at the orphanage, but she felt a connection to him that she hadn’t felt toward anyone else. Despite being a boy and years older than her, she felt as though he really wanted to be her friend and really wanted to talk to her.

 

Eventually Rey lost track of time. It wasn’t until her roommates barged into the room that she finally stopped and slammed the window shut, abruptly ending the notebook conversation with the boy across the street.

 

“Rey? What were you doing?” one of the girls asked suspiciously.

 

“Nothing,” she immediately replied, hiding the notebook behind her back.

 

The girl she’d stolen the notebook from narrowed her eyes, and Rey knew she was about to ask what she had behind her back. To her surprise, they decided to drop the subject and sat around the bunk on the far side of the room to talk, excluding Rey as they always did.

 

Rey found she didn’t care. She was still thinking about Ben and hating that she’d ended the conversation without giving him any warning. What if he thought she was being rude and decided he didn’t want to talk to her anymore? The thought made her feel as alone as she ever had and she definitely didn’t want to go back to feeling that way.

 

When she returned to the window, she was dismayed not to see Ben waiting at his window. He’d closed his window, and Rey couldn’t help but feel as though it was final, deliberate, and he no longer wanted anything to do with her.

 

Rey had the sudden urge to throw the notebook and marker still clutched in her hands as far and hard as her six-year-old body was capable of. It was no use. No one wanted to spend time with her. The only people who did were gone. She was truly alone, and that conclusion was nearly unbearable.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Rey asked one of the male staff, an old fat man with the weird name Unkar Plutt, if she could play in the front yard instead of the back. She didn’t want to be with the other kids in the back but she didn’t want to be cooped up inside the house, either. She’d overheard some of the other kids say that Plutt was the one to ask things for because he usually didn’t care what any of the kids did so long as they stayed out of trouble. She decided to test that rumor and to her great relief found it to be true when he grunted a yes.

 

Rey took the stolen notebook and the black marker and sat down in the grass off to the side of the building. She flipped to the pages she’d written in yesterday, read them over, ripped them out and tore them to tiny pieces. When they became nothing more than confetti, she threw them in the air and let them rain down around her.

 

With that done, she turned to a blank page and began to draw.

 

Rey had never been much of a drawer, but the act calmed her down and had always been a way of letting the time slip by. She was always able to lose herself in her drawings. Her mom once said it was a way of getting one’s troubles off the mind. Mommy always knew what she was talking about.

 

“Is that me?”

 

The unexpected voice broke her out of her reverie. Rey didn’t know how much time had passed, but she figured it was a long time because her eyesight had become blurry and the large amount of sunlight that entered her eyes when she looked up was temporarily blinding.

 

When she collected herself, Rey found the boy who lived across the street standing over her, smiling and pointing at the paper in her lap.

 

Rey frowned and stared at the drawing. She blushed when she realized she had, in fact, drawn Ben as she’d seen him yesterday. She may have exaggerated the length of his black hair, but there was no doubt she’d drawn him.

 

“No.”

 

The boy laughed. “It looks just like me.”

 

“It isn’t!” She insisted, though she knew she was only fooling herself. “It’s one of the kids who lives with me. He just looks a lot like you.”

 

“Oh. My bad. Sorry.” Rey knew the boy wasn’t convinced, but he’d decided to let it go.

 

“Why are you here?” Rey demanded, immediately regretting how angry she sounded. She couldn’t help it sometimes, but she wasn’t about to apologize for it.

 

The boy shrugged and sat down across from her. “I saw you sitting there by yourself and figured I’d come over to say hi.”

 

She frowned at him as she closed the notebook in her lap. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be here.”

 

“Well, if I get in trouble I’ll just say I live across the street. My parents are home so it’s not like they don’t know where I am.” No sooner had he spoken did his dark eyes widen and a sudden fear came over his features. “Oh my god, I didn’t mean to say that…”

 

Rey shrugged and stood up, careful to keep the notebook in her hands as she did so. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say sorry.”

 

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean to rub it in.”

 

“Rub what in?”

 

“You know…” Ben trailed off, looking very uncomfortable as he stood back up. “The fact that I have parents and you…”

 

“Don’t?” Rey finished for him.

 

Ben nodded, his gaze trailing down to the ground.

 

“If you stop saying you’re sorry for bringing up your parents all the time it won’t be awkward. That’s what the staff people say, anyway. They think if they make it normal to talk about, it won’t be as sensitive anymore,” Rey said.

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Ben agreed.

 

They stood there in awkward silence for a little bit, neither seeming to know what to say.

 

It wasn’t until enough time had passed and neither of them had made a move that Rey finally opened the notebook to the page of her drawing and ripped it out.

 

“Here.” She held the picture out to the older boy.

 

Ben took it, biting back a smile. “So it _was_ me.”

 

Rey blushed and began walking back to the porch of the orphanage. “So what? I didn’t know what else to draw.”

 

Ben laughed, and when Rey turned back around to face him he said, “Will you be at your window later?”

 

She shrugged, though the thought of seeing him again made her feel happier than she had been since coming here. “Maybe.”

 

“Then maybe I will be, too. You know. In case you want to talk some more.”

 

For the first time since talking to him, a small smile formed on Rey’s lips. “Okay.”

 

Ben’s smile matched her own. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the support! Hope you enjoyed Rey's POV. Next chapter we'll see our beloved characters age just a little bit. Let me know what you think!


End file.
